Ronald Murdock Douglas (1874-1978)
Item
Dublin Core
Type
Title
Ronald Murdock Douglas (1874-1978)
Contributor
Date
1914
Publisher
Wyndham City Libraries
Format
text
Language
eng
World War One Veterans Item Type Metadata
Name
Ronald Murdock Douglas
Birth Date
Birthplace
Service Number
252
Enlistment Date
Next of Kin
Florence Douglas
Wife
Wife
Address at time of Enlistment
Werribee
Occupation
Marital Status
Married
Death Date
Place of Burial
New South Wales
Biographical Text
No.252 Corporal Ronald Murdock Douglas
Ronald was born to Joseph Wallace Douglas and Mary Ann (nee Brown) in 1874. He had three brothers:
War Service
Ronald enlisted into the Army at Melbourne, Victoria on 11 December 1914. He was aged 38 years and six months and he was 5 feet 8 and a quarter inches tall. Ronald weighed ten stone and ten pounds and had a chest measurement of thirty three to thirty seven inches. His complexion was dark, with brown eyes and grey hair. Distinctive marks were 2 bullet wounds – 1 below right shoulder blade and 1 above left hip. All of this was recorded at the time of his enlistment.
Ronald was originally a Lance Corporal and was promoted to Corporal on 15 November 1915. Details on his service records are not clear on where he was stationed overseas. His war records are not very detailed. Ronald was discharged from the 3rd N&M Force on completion of service on 31 October 1918.
In the electoral rolls 1909 and 1914 it says that Florence and Ronald are in Werribee: he is a labourer and she is at the Metropolitan Farm, home duties.
Post War
Florence died in Condobolin, New South Wales in 1927. Ronald then married Helena Thorpe in Condobolin, New South Wales in 1929. They had one daughter Ethel Douglas. Helena died in 1974 in New South Wales. In the Sydney Morning Herald, 18 July 1978, it states that Mr Ronald Douglas died at the age of 104, and that he was believed to be Australia's oldest ex-soldier. He had been living at Elizabeth Jenkins Place, a Salvation Army nursing home at Collaroy for the last three years and had been in the care of the Salvation Army for 24 years. A copy of this article is in his Army record.
In the Wyndham Leader, 10 November 2013, there was an article about his great grandson, Ron Douglas. The article stated Ron came from a family with generations of servicemen who fought for their country, his grandfather having been a Gallipoli veteran, and his father and uncle fighting in World War 2.
Medals and Entitlements:
Ronald was born to Joseph Wallace Douglas and Mary Ann (nee Brown) in 1874. He had three brothers:
- Walter Joseph
- William Bruce
- Gavin Stewart
- Violet Leonee
- Phoebe
- Ethel Scott
- Wilhelmina Jane
War Service
Ronald enlisted into the Army at Melbourne, Victoria on 11 December 1914. He was aged 38 years and six months and he was 5 feet 8 and a quarter inches tall. Ronald weighed ten stone and ten pounds and had a chest measurement of thirty three to thirty seven inches. His complexion was dark, with brown eyes and grey hair. Distinctive marks were 2 bullet wounds – 1 below right shoulder blade and 1 above left hip. All of this was recorded at the time of his enlistment.
Ronald was originally a Lance Corporal and was promoted to Corporal on 15 November 1915. Details on his service records are not clear on where he was stationed overseas. His war records are not very detailed. Ronald was discharged from the 3rd N&M Force on completion of service on 31 October 1918.
In the electoral rolls 1909 and 1914 it says that Florence and Ronald are in Werribee: he is a labourer and she is at the Metropolitan Farm, home duties.
Post War
Florence died in Condobolin, New South Wales in 1927. Ronald then married Helena Thorpe in Condobolin, New South Wales in 1929. They had one daughter Ethel Douglas. Helena died in 1974 in New South Wales. In the Sydney Morning Herald, 18 July 1978, it states that Mr Ronald Douglas died at the age of 104, and that he was believed to be Australia's oldest ex-soldier. He had been living at Elizabeth Jenkins Place, a Salvation Army nursing home at Collaroy for the last three years and had been in the care of the Salvation Army for 24 years. A copy of this article is in his Army record.
In the Wyndham Leader, 10 November 2013, there was an article about his great grandson, Ron Douglas. The article stated Ron came from a family with generations of servicemen who fought for their country, his grandfather having been a Gallipoli veteran, and his father and uncle fighting in World War 2.
Medals and Entitlements:
- 1914/15 Star Medal
- British War Medal
- Victory Medal
Bibliography
AIF project
http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/index.html
Ancestry
http://search.ancestry.com.au
National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/
Leader Website
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/hoppers-crossing-veteran-ron-douglas-was-following-family-tradition-when-he-enlisted-in-the-royal-australian-airforce/story-fngnvmj7-1226755759232
http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/index.html
Ancestry
http://search.ancestry.com.au
National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/
Leader Website
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/hoppers-crossing-veteran-ron-douglas-was-following-family-tradition-when-he-enlisted-in-the-royal-australian-airforce/story-fngnvmj7-1226755759232
Medals and Entitlements
1914-15 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Collection
Citation
“Ronald Murdock Douglas (1874-1978),” Wyndham History, accessed April 1, 2023, http://www.wyndhamhistory.net.au/items/show/2151.
Comments
Bill
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of the First World War to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in the south-west Pacific. Britain required the German wireless installations to be destroyed because they were used by Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee's German East Asian Cruiser Squadron, which threatened merchant shipping in the region. Following the capture of German possessions in the region, the AN&MEF provided occupation forces for the duration of the war. New Zealand provided a similar force for the occupation of German Samoa.
- Wikipedia